Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
October 24, 2015

Jehu Lafeuillee took charge of proceedings with a game-high 19 points for Combermere who came from two quarters down to dispose of Barbados Community College (BCC) 49-39 when action continued yesterday in the National Sports Council’s Schools Division One Basketball Tournament.

Played at Waterford, the Massy United Insurance-sponsored tournament saw the hosts get off to a slow start when they trailed BCC 7-10, 16-23. But they shook off their lethargy to surge ahead after the third quarter at 31-30 and pressed on from there.

Derion Hurley (with ball) of Barbados Community College benefits from a screen set by teammate Karlos Greenidge in order to get past Theo Greenidge of Combermere.

It was a match-up that caught the attention of many and the big boys did not disappoint even though no one else outside of six-footer Lafeuillee reached double figures.

BCC guard Derion Hurley scored just nine points in the game and four of those came in the first quarter while Karlos Greenidge contributed just seven. Hurley had a tough task getting around Combermere’s defence. Indeed, both teams were good on the defensive end. Despite being under pressure BCC with an all-round effort tallied 13 points in the second quarter compared to Combermere’s nine and that allowed them to advance their lead by seven heading into the penultimate period.

Combermere had several plans during the match and the main one was not losing to BCC on their home court. The result was that they took the attack to the visitors and boxed out their main man Hurley who can be potent given adequate space. But the quartet of Lafeuillee, Theo Greenidge, Andrew Ifill and Kadeem Brathwaite did well on defence and came up with some timely blocks to deny the visitors several scoring opportunities. Defence was the game-changer for Combermere as Ifill and Greenidge –– former basketball powerhouses at Graydon Sealy –– did not cause many problems for BCC on offence, accounting only for six and five points respectively.

Lafeuillee had several rebounds and tallied seven points in the third quarter as Combermere took a one-point lead, 31-30, at the end of the third. Christopher Collymore contributed four points before he eventually fouled out in that period but the Combermerians had no reason to worry because they netted 15 points while limiting BCC to seven in that third quarter.

In the fourth and decisive period it was anybody’s game and it came down to who wanted it more. Lafeuillee answered for Combermere with ten points in that quarter as Brathwaite and Jomon Phillips chipped in with four each.

Hurley scored four points in the final quarter for BCC but Combermere’s defence was too good on the day and they allowed him no breathing space, a strategy that in the end propelled them to their ten-point victory.